That Gaby Roslin Podcast: Reasons To Be Joyful - Josh Widdicombe

Episode Date: September 19, 2021

In this episode Gaby chat with comedian Josh Widdicombe. They talk about his brilliant book called ‘Watching Neighbours Twice a Day’ and reminisce about all things 90’s including his love of Jet from 'Gladiators'. Plus, his hilarious podcast ‘Parenting Hell’ with Rob Beckett, 'Taskmaster', 'The Last Leg' and how he feels TV has changed over the years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

And welcome to season two of that Gabby Roslyn podcast back with more absolutely blooming fantastic guests. I always love chatting to the fabulously funny Josh Whittickham. We talk about his brilliant book, which is out now called Watching Neighbors Twice a Day. So we, of course, chat all about the 90s and his love of Jet from Gladiators. Plus, his hilarious podcast, Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett, Taskmaster, The Last Legg, and how he feels TV has changed over the years. And really, even just thinking about him makes me laugh. He's brilliant. Enjoy.

Please, can I ask you a favour? Would you mind, please, following and subscribing, please, by pressing the follow or subscribe buttons, please. This is completely and utterly free, by the way. And then you can also rate and review on Apple Podcasts, which is the purple app on your iPhone or iPad. Simply scroll down to the bottom of all. of the episodes and you'll see the stars where you can tap and rate.

And also, please, write a review. Thank you so much. How many places was that? Probably too many. But please, thank you. Hello, Josh. I'm so sorry, I had 3.30 in my diary. No, did you actually forget?

Go and be honest. No, I wouldn't have been able to turn it around this quickly. I wouldn't, I'd have been 10 minutes away if I'd actually forgotten. Lovely Josh. I was just doing another podcast. I was just doing me and Rob's podcast. And Frankie Bridge was 10 minutes late and I was like, this is unbelievable. And now I'm the guy that's 10 minutes late.

An hour later, I've made the same mistake. Yes. It's absolutely fine. Listen, we'll wait for you. No problem. The man who was brought up in Postman Pat Land. Yes, I was. That's me.

Is that really? Did you really say that? I think that's a very good description of where I was brought up. I don't know if that's a direct quote. Well, from 2015, it said, I think the simplest thing is if you say that I was brought up in postman Patland. I think that's a fair description. I wish I'd remembered I'd said that.

I'd have spilled it out a bit more often in the last five years. It's a good one. Yeah. Yeah, I grew up in the middle of nowhere, mate. Four people in my year at school, village with a post office and a pub and the post office is now closed down. Oh, don't say that. Oh, no. Well, don't worry about it.

No, no, but I find that really sad. I really do. I love the idea. I remember when I was a little girl, which was obviously before you were a little boy, not a little girl, there was a shop around the corner and we knew the woman that ran it and she was called Katie and she had sweets and jars before it was trendy to have sweets in jars. Yeah, we had sweets and you get them in a quarter or in, would it be two ounces or a quarter? I can't even remember. But a quarter was like too many sweets. What would that even be? A quarter of a... pound i don't even know what that'd be of course i don't know there were a lot and you're yeah and um my brother liked one and i liked another i only like the fake bananas oh the foam bananas yes they are good they're really good mate you've made a good decision what did you go for oh my brother liked the sherbet lemon sherbet's i didn't like that do you not i think i just just i was into it all really i don't occasionally i'd even go for the cough sweet ones which is madness looking

Oh, no. The cough candies. Or the pontifract cakes. Oh, yeah. God, we've gone back very quickly here, haven't we? That was nowhere. I wasn't going to go there at all. But, hey, that's why I completely adore you.

I was going to obviously go back to the 90s, because we're going to go back to the 90s a lot because of your book. But do you know, so lovely reading about you, all the different things, because you keep yourself to yourself. and through your podcast, which thank you for having me on with you and Rob. Oh, you were great on it. You were amazing. I think I might have actually possibly wet myself because I was laughing. It felt like you might break a rib from laughing, which was exactly what we want.

That's the spirit you want, isn't it, on a podcast? But I think also that I personally won that in life. You make me laugh. And I've said this to Rob and you know how much I love Rob for many years. is and but I like people who've got funny bones and you're another one who's got funny bones. It's just great to make people laugh. It's the most fun you can have, right? I don't know.

I don't understand people that are kind of, I mean, obviously we're all serious about things at times, but like the best fun you can have is making people laugh, whether that's face to face in your work or, you know, on a WhatsApp group or whatever. They're the people we want to be spending time with, right? Did you make the other four people in your primary school laugh? I was a bit of a non-character back in the day. Like, I was a bit more of a big character at primary school because I was like, you know, big fish and all that.

There's only four of you. There's got to be, yeah, yeah. Yeah, exactly. You're all big fish. Yeah. Exactly, yeah, we're all big fish. But so I didn't, I was a bit more of a bigger character at primary school. But at secondary school, I didn't make anyone laugh for five years.

I just completely disappeared. just completely went under the radar. From shyness or from putting your head down and working? I think it was like not so much shyness because it was like I had mates and I'd hang around with my mates and stuff but just stuff like I just didn't want attention. I suppose that is shyness to an extent but not in the way that you can't talk to anyone or anything

but I just wanted to fit it. I just fitted in and the way to fit in was just kind of be as unmemorable. as possible. I don't think I was consciously doing this, by the way. I think this is me afterwards going, oh yeah, that's who you were at secondary school. You were just kind of, the kind of extra person. You were the kind of, if they'd done a pointless round about my school, I would have been the pointless answer. Do you know what I mean? I was that one no one remembered. Yeah. But you didn't feel you, sorry for yourself when you did that. No, because I still had my mates and stuff. So it wasn't like, because obviously not having mates

would have drawn attention to myself. So you're still like, you've got your friends and you've got, but their middle-level social group, do you know what I mean, on the periphery of that, all the kind of average things. That's okay. It's funny. It's really weird when people talk about their childhood and being just fitting in or being shy or being average or nothing special, whatever, that's what most people are, aren't they? Totally.

I think there's this presumption with comedians that you're either the class clown or you're the person that was bullied and learned to make people laugh to stop them bullying you. That's the two options you have as an origin story. And people can't believe it's not one of those two

if it's not one of those two. But it was just with me, I just really liked comedy and really liked watching comedy and then really liked the process of kind of making it. But you've only, I mean, you're relatively new. I mean, it's such a weird thing.

I mean, you've been doing it since 2008. but that's still relatively, I mean it's 13 years. But there must have been a moment that you said, okay, I'm going to now do this as a job. Or did it just happen? Because there were some people, it just, you sort of fall into it. There must have been a moment.

I did a gig. My first gig, I went well. And it, you know, and then if that hadn't gone well, I think I'd have quit straight away and I'd have never have gigged again and all that kind of stuff. No, really? Yeah, yeah, definitely. I'm strongly of the belief.

that there's a like, not the belief, but I think there's a parallel universe in which loads of people that aren't comedians now who are just as good as us, you know, but just had got unlucky with that first gig could be huge comedians. And these big comedians that you see on TV, you know, just didn't,

they just didn't have the impetus for some reason, a couple of gigs went against them or something. So in that sense, but I just, I gigged for two years on the open mic circuit. I came out of a long-term relationship about a year into that and by that point I was like well I've got nothing else to do now

it's like I'm in for a penny and for a pound I suppose so maybe at that point was when I kind of went this is what I'm going to do it's quite a it is a gamble and I mean I love it as a gamble but but I said to all the comedians that we had on the last season and also on this and so Tom recently took your Tom Allen and you're Tom Allen You're Tom Allen. You're Tom Allen.

But everybody who says this, it's that thing about standing up on stage and if a joke doesn't work, still believing in yourself enough or a story doesn't work, believing in yourself enough to say, okay, I'm just going to try again. That would just, inside,

my stomach just goes into knots the thought of doing stand-up. That's mad because you do live TV and radio, right? But that's fine, that's fine. No, it's not. That's terrifying, right? No, not at all. There's nothing greater.

But that's all the comedians, I know, from Alastair McGowan to Rob and you and Alan and all the rest, I don't know how you can stand up there and peddle your wares brilliantly as you all do and then not get a laugh and then be able to go on the next night. Would one laugh? Would one failed joke? killed Gabby Roslin's stand-up career?

No, it wouldn't, but it's fascinating how you guys keep going. I don't do jokes. I just fall over. As you know, my favorite thing is if anybody fall over, then I'm happy and I'll wet myself laughing. But for a stand-up, I just think there's a real brave. I think you have to be very brave. I think, yeah, but I think obviously you desensitized to anything. So I filmed a thing recently.

with a woman who'd done she was like a kind of Guinness World Record holding skydiver she'd done 4,000 skydives or whatever in her career and we had to go up in a plane and i was utterly terrified and she was loving literally loving it and i just thought i spend my life being told that i've got a brave job and i can't even go up in a plane do you know what i mean i mean i'm I am the biggest weed you've ever met, Gavittar. I didn't climb trees as a child. I was too scared to climb trees. I don't like confrontation of any sort.

I am absolutely, like I live my life in fear, apart from for some reason when I'm doing more the week or whatever, when I'm fine. Why's that? I don't know. Because that's you. Like I said, you've got it in your bones. Yeah.

And I enjoy it. And also it gets easier. It gets easier. right? So you know you talk about going on and jokes going badly. By the time you're on tour, you're playing to a thousand people that have all paid to see you and you're doing stuff that you've done enough times that you know it works. Everything works by that point generally. It was most, it's most galling in those first two years where you're the worst you are at the job doing the toughest gigs. I was doing gigs to like two people. I did a gig to two people and they were on a date.

No, I don't believe. Are you exaggerating? What you really mean? I'm not exaggerating. That's true. It was above a club in Camden. They're on a date. There's 15 acts and just two people on a date sat there. And you're like, this is horrible for everyone involved. One of the comics are driven from Cardiff to do the gig. And you're like, what a life this is. Is he still doing it? Is he still doing it?

Is he still doing it, that Cardiff guy? I think he is. I think he is. I think he's professional in Germany, strangely. In Germany? Yeah. There's so many things I want to say about that, but I probably should. I really shouldn't. Different sense of humour springs to mind, but there we go. Yes, yes.

But all the stuff, because you were saying about me, so you do live telly, you do game shows, you do sitcoms, and for me, maybe I'm completely wrong, but the way I read it with you is that you jump in with both feet. And there you were saying, going up in an aeroplane, the idea of jumping out of the plane, absolutely terrifies you, but all of these other things, am I right in thinking you jump in with both feet with open arms? Yeah, but you know what? If something goes badly, I don't do it again. Really?

Yeah. So, you know, like, people will go, oh, that went badly. I want to do that show again to show I can do it. Absolutely not. No, thank you. Did badly, never mind the bus cox. Thank you very much. I can't do that show.

I'll move on. Dealt with. never doing that again. Yeah, I'm like that. I get that. No, I get that. But I'm like, oh, I'll just write that bit of my life off. I don't need to prove that to anyone.

So if something goes badly, I'm done with it. What if it's a huge success, would you go back and do it? It's like, you know, if you had a hit album and it goes straight to number one, and it sells millions around the world, would you go back and do album number two? Or would you go, thank you very much. I've done the album. Oh, that's a good question, Gabby, which obviously will never happen. But the question, no, well, that's an interesting one in terms of like, like, I love quizzes, right?

So I love quizzes on TV. I did pointless and we won pointless. And I've been asked to do that again and I'm absolutely not doing that. I'm quitting while I'm ahead with that one. There we go. There we go. But you did it with Taskmaster because you won and then you were the champion of champions with Greg's name tattooed on. I know.

I still got that. Is that real time? Yeah, that is a real tattoo, yeah. Have you still got it? Yeah, because I don't know. It's quite weird with my daughter, because she obviously can't read. And she's not called Greg. She's three and a half.

She's not called, we had to call her Greg. It was the only way around it. What about your new baby? Did you, you could have called your new baby boy, Greg. Greg? Yeah, I mean, you don't get many greggs at baby age these days, do you? Yeah, but he was a baby once? Was he?

Have you seen him? He's too big to have been a baby. You're right. I don't know if he was a baby once. No, you're right. You're right. But Taskmaster, you did go back and do and you won again. You became the champion of champions.

But yeah, but I would not do that again now. That's it. I'm done. If they're doing another champion of champions for the next five series. So if they did 25 series, they'd have five champion of champions. And they will. I wouldn't do champion and champion champions. I don't know whether any of these sentences are making.

sense to the listeners. No, I completely, I understood. Do you know, I am, that's, it's the one thing that you do that I, I wish they wouldn't just have comedians. I would love to do Taskmaster. Every time I watch it, I think that is the best fun. It's a gift. It's such a joy. It's, it's, nerve-wracking, opening the envelope, because you don't know what you're going to be made to do, or asked to do, should I say. But, um, it, that's no way. But it's like, I remember like Sarah Pasco described it to me as like, it's like your treat for doing all the shows that are really tough. Do you know what I mean? Is you get to do Taskmaster. That's your treat. You get to play Alex Horns, weird little game. And that's, yeah, it's so much fun. Never again. Never. Yeah. I'm going to remind you about when they've done the 25 and it's the champion, whatever you just said. Well, the thing is, the thing is Gabby as well, once it comes to 25, my career might be in a position where I've done. really need that gig. But then you'll be going on, I'm a celebrity.

Oh, I don't know if I do that. I don't know if I do that. I'm vegetarian, Gabby. It would make it very difficult in the bush chuck of trials. Didn't you work on Dora the Explorer magazine? Yeah, yeah. See, you're ready to be an expert. You could do the jungle. I don't know how much I learn from the explore.

There's a slight, yeah, there is a link. I would say I did work on Dora the Explorer, mainly from the position of, of a desk in West London rather than trekking through the jungle. Yeah, sorry to break your heart on that, Gabby. Oh, well. I know. I don't know how you envisaged publishing. Yeah.

It's not how you believe it. Yeah, that was like the first job I had when I came to London. But what did? So you did work on Door of the Explorer magazine, but obviously you didn't explore. but you also worked on football magazines. So I know you've got the football podcast and you did football radio as well. And now this is another thing that I found out by you.

You speak in the manner of someone I'm going to guess isn't a huge football fan. How did you know? Because I've never heard the phrase football radio before. Okay. On radio you talked about football. How's that? Okay.

Yeah, no. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. I'm not. No, that's fine. No, I'm not. I'm not a fan. I don't know much about football. All I know is that my husband supports Chelsea and he plays football still twice a week. He does seven aside and he loves it and it brings him joy. And that's enough. That was enough for me. I just, and I quite like watching. I did. I really did. I watched England and your mate Rob. Rob. Rob gave me tremendous amount of joy throughout. He even texted me late at night on one of them.

Did he? No, it was very sweet. I think it was something like, I can't remember what I texted you. And he hadn't texted me. So that was fine. He became England's unofficial mascot for the tournament, didn't they? But I have to say, I loved it.

I was heartbroken by the reaction of the, okay, a few of the fans. I was disgusted. because I remember walking through London on my way to work and I was walking through London and I went live on the radio when I arrived at work and said, wow, I haven't seen London like this since the 2012 Olympics. There was joy, everybody of every age, every colour, every religion,

everything, all arm in arm, as they could be, obviously, in COVID. And they had their England shirts and kids were laughing. It was a joy. and then cut to four days later and the apparent behaviour of those people towards those incredible footballers just sickened me. Couldn't agree.

I'd say that is the perfect description of the summer we went through. I thought it felt like a uniting event up until the end. It felt like a uniting event after the kind of almost the country needed after the 18 months it's had before.

And I thought, you know, from Garris Southgate to all of the squad. They're kind of the kind of people we needed to bring us together and then obviously not quite,

but what a man, what a human being he is. See, I can talk football a little bit. You can. Do you know what? Do you know what? You summed it up far better than people that are paid

to talk about football. I don't know if my husband would agree with you, but thank you. Bless you, Josh. I mean, I would still be disappointed if I turned on match of the day and you were one of the pundits though gabby. Yeah, they don't expect the other Gabby, not me. It's the other Gabby. Yeah, yeah.

It'll be very confusing. Although I do get lots of messages, people saying, why did you say that? And I like your blue jacket. I think that's great. I'm sitting here watching an 80s film. I don't know how they know what I'm wearing. And it's certainly no football in it. Can we talk about last leg as well? Is she getting questions going? Yeah. Is she getting text going to love your motor mouth. She does. She does. We're going to get to 90s. Don't worry. We're going to get to 90s TV. Sorry. No, no, no, no, sorry. No, we are. No, we are. No, we are. I'd love to talk about last leg.

We are. No, we are. Yeah, last leg, that works. I know this is a really weird phrase, and I was thinking about last leg. And I just thought, it just, it works. The three of you are a complete and utter delight. Each of you are honestly a delight.

You have naughty humor. You all have, which I always call that twinkle. But it just works. And I think that's, and I mean that with my arms around all three of you, it, I'm going to say it again. I'll say it again, I'm boring myself, but it just works, doesn't it? But I think that's what it is. I think it started out that first series in 2012. People loved it because it kind of spoke about disability in a way it had never been spoken about before, which obviously is I take no credit for.

Obviously, Adam and Alex are kind of leading the charge on that. And it also captured a moment when it was the Paralympics cut through and everyone was on this high. And I think since then, when we've had to talk about, you know, possibly seven years of utterly depressing news, it's become not about the news, but it's become about the relationship between the three of us. And it's become, you know, it's almost like a sitcom in that sense. Do you know what I mean? You've all got the regular character. We're all different characters and all different people.

and you know maybe how we'd react to different situations and stuff like that. And we all make each other laugh. And I think that's very rare in a show where we were put together, but we've got the chemistry of friends, if you know what I mean. So you and Rob obviously get on fantastically. You and James in Hypothetical. In fact, I suddenly realized I am a super fan. This is very embarrassing.

There you go. Thank you. But hypothetical as well, that, that work. Oh, it's just great. Oh, and how it works. But it is about relationship. All of those are all about relationships. And actually, let's go to, let's go to your book.

Congratulations on your book. Wow, watching Neighbors twice a day. You and I could talk 90s television until the cows come home. I'm very lucky to have been a part of that time. Central to it, I'd say. No, no, no, no. but you look back and you can see those relationships that absolutely and utterly work. And I really do put you three on the last leg, but also you and Rob.

I want you and Rob to do more together. I really do. It works. Do you know what this is interesting about this? It's like you get a lot of kind of TV people that are like, how would we do the podcast as a TV show or whatever? And you go, what I love about it is that it's a podcast. Do you know what I mean? Yes.

Oh, I agree. Yeah. Yeah. And I love how we get to do, we get to say whatever we want to say within legal reason, obviously. We get to record, you know, it's just us and Michael the producer. And we've kind of created this thing. And there's a huge freedom. I don't know if you find out with this, that you just go.

Yeah, completely. Podcasts are just the most, I just adore the freedom of doing it. It's so much fun. and you go, I'm just going to go upstairs 45 minutes and have a laugh with my mate and that's what I'm going to call work today. I don't have to drive into the BBC. So I kind of, we're kind of,

I'd love to do other stuff with Rob. I mean other stuff, I don't mean your podcast. Yeah, yeah. And I mean other stuff because I love, obviously we all love him with Ramesh. And I love you, like I said, I love you with James. But I just think there's something, and I know you've done other stuff on telly with Rob,

but there's, I just think it works. The relationship, I'm going, I'm really boring myself. I keep saying it worked. No, not at all. I think it's really interesting. But then when you look at some relationships, they don't necessarily, and you do feel that it's been put together.

And I know you said that about last leg and that now you guys are all mates and you get on and you know each other's sense of humour. But sometimes it doesn't work. And in 90s television, there were some incredible. I mean, you think about the word, that was a show and a half.

Wow. Yes. Yeah, that was an intent. I mean, that was a very different... I don't think you'd get the word on television now, would you? No, no. That was kind of the most, kind of the purest 90s TV show in a way, wasn't it? And it just took it to the kind of nth degree.

It was a really, like... Like, but the first, like, exposure I had to that kind of show was when I watched The Big Breakfast, which was a similar type of zoo TV or whatever called... You'd call it a show. I'd have been, what, 92 would that be? So I'd be nine. And I turned that on and I was like, what the F is going on?

This is like something I've never seen before in my life. And it's on at 7 a. What the F is going on at 9. You knew there was a swear word, but you just used F. I love that. Nine-year-old with four people in your class. Yeah, I just thought, you know, my grand doesn't need to hear me safer. You know what I mean?

So, no, but like, that was the first exposure I had that TV could be like that. Do you know what I mean? That you could see the floor manager, not that I knew what a floor manager was. Or you could see the crew that it could go wrong and a man could fall off a chair and it could stay in the show because it's live and it could all go. You know, that's the thrill of it, right? And that was the first experience I had of that kind of show. And also it was in the morning. So it was like, what?

I don't understand what's happening here. It blew my mind, really. Mark Lamar on a doorstep. And then like, you and Chris Evans bantering with the news guy before he did the headlines and then someone's in a pool on a tea bag trying to get a sugar lump or whatever. It was like crazy.

It was. It was. And it was tremendous fun. But the 90s were the TV of the 90s. You know, you're saying about watching, you know, because it's called about neighbors, watching neighbors twice a day. And, but TV really, really molded you, didn't it? I mean, you got so much from television.

I think I lived in Devon, nothing happened. And also, and I just kind of watched, I spent my childhood watching television, and that's how I experienced the world. It was really weird in that sense, like so much of my memory. I did too. Yeah. And your memories are television shows in a way, and also childhood, but like, television is so central to it. And it kind of, that's how I related to the world, and that's how I understood everything.

And that's how I received all of my information, because there was no other, you know, I wasn't reading a newspaper. And I didn't have, and the internet didn't exist. Or it did, but it was rubbish for the second half of the 90s. And so, you know, no one was actually going on the internet until about 2003, unless they're a real nerd. and I was a real nerd, but not that much of a nerd. But it was everything to you, and it was central to your experience of life because it was like everyone watched neighbours at my school,

and then the next day, everyone talked about neighbours, and if you hadn't watched neighbours, you were effed to use the terminology that I would have used at the age of nine. Yes. Like, you were absolutely effed. But, like, it was so central to my life. It's mad to think of it now.

I didn't realize at the time that was weird. What else? What else was? So, Neighbors and you went into school to talk about it and thank you for mentioning the Big Breakfast. That's very sweet that you remember it. But what other shows were real sort of cool to your learning? Like, Gladiators was a big deal for me.

I loved gladiators. And what's kind of weird now is obviously my job, and you get to meet most famous people at some point or another. and the people that make me most excited are like when you meet Jet from Gladiators or something and you're like, oh, I've met like, you know, film stars through the last leg. I've been on Graham Norton with, you know, with, I don't know, I've been on Graham Norton with Tina Faye or whatever or, you know, Ed Shearron. I did not react to them like I reacted when I met Jet from Gladiators. It's mad.

Like, these are the people that really, like, blow my mind and excite me. We had, so for the podcast this week, we had, that I do with Rob, we had Pat Sharp, right, as I guessed, people are going mad for it. There's something about those people, like Pat Sharp or Jet from Gladiators, that for my generation, they mean so much more to them than if you'd got, you know, I don't know, Noel Gallagher on or something. Do you know what I mean? There's something about these people. That's very interesting. Because Neil Buchanan... We wouldn't say no to Noel Gallagher, obviously.

Let's just be very clear. No, no. Yeah. Of course, he listens to this. But Neil Buchanan, because you asked me to... So I message Neil Buchanan, Mr. Art Attack. But when I mentioned Neil's name to you when I was on your podcast, your reaction was so incredible.

You couldn't believe that I knew Neil Buchanan. Canon and then I messaged him and then we spoke to each other and he thought I was taking the piss I went no I'm really he went Josh Whittickum I mean yes he would be ridiculous I mean no I'm honestly telling you he couldn't believe that you and me was still mate and that I knew mr art attack and Mr Motamouth and he just honestly was like no don't be don't know not Josh Whittickum I'm I mean yes and it's you're not taking the piss you actually really do feel like this about all these people yeah of course because these are people were central to my life growing up. These people were so important. And that's the point

at which you're so, not suggestible, that's the wrong word, but you know, your memories as a child are so much more vivid, so much more powerful, the emotions you feel are so much more powerful. No one's actually that excited about meeting a musician that they've loved since they were 30. Do you know what I mean? But they are excited about meeting someone that was on TV when they were 10. Because that's when the person on TV felt otherworldly and they felt kind of from a completely different fantasy world where, you know, Neil Buchanan was making a picture of the queen from old laundry that was four miles long.

Do you know what I mean or whatever? Listen, I, you're talking, you know, I was exactly the same when I met the presenters of Blue Peter. I literally, I remember meeting Michael Asple. I honestly, because he was on TV when I was a child And I, it was that and Donnie Osmond. And people always say who are the people you're most excited about meeting. And probably in my mind it would be the Blue Peter presenters and Donnie Osmond

because they were on my telly and I lived everything. Television was my world like it was for you. So I get that. I completely get your love of it. But I'm going to throw in something here, which it does sound a bit heavy. But I've been quite outspoken about it. but do you think that TV today is too safe compared to what I was like? I don't know.

In the sense of, I can totally see. It is. There's nothing naughty on television. Gabby, I think you've just answered your own question. Yeah, I have. I want to know from you. I'm sorry. I can't.

I just can't believe you're going to say it's not too safe. No, no, no. I tell you what I miss is I do miss that what you want is that feeling that anything could happen. And I miss that. Yeah? And I don't think you get that as much as, like, when you watch something like TFI Friday, it is astonishing how kind of skin, whether this is, you know, how much of it's put upon for the show, but it's astonishing how skin of the teeth, how many mad things they were doing,

how many kind of strange kind of, you know, risks they were taking. That's amazing and that's exciting. And then, yeah, I don't think you'd have that anymore. And I think that's a real shame. And I think that's why people would gravitate towards a podcast or they would gravitate towards stuff that people make themselves on the internet and stuff. Because it's beholden to less, you know, things. It's not need...

When you're doing a podcast, well, you do have adverts, but you're not really thinking about the advertisers. Do you know what I mean? You're not worrying about the financing of the show and all that kind of stuff. And that's kind of, I think, yeah, I think there's more ways now that you can get that stuff that you're maybe looking for from TV, you were getting from TV in the 90s that now is maybe coming from other areas if you want to find that. That's very interesting. Yeah, that's very interesting. I mean, I think last leg takes risks.

It does. It definitely takes risks. but also it um you know i think it would be a lot easier for us to book it if we weren't taking as many risks and stuff like that do you know what i mean i think it's very difficult to book big movie stars and stuff for last leg i think because of it's live you might have to talk about donald trump well not now but obviously um but you might again you know there's all these things that maybe now just people wouldn't touch with a barge pole because the PR would just go,

it's not worth the juice isn't worth the squeeze on that one, which I think is a real shame. So maybe it comes down to that then. Maybe it comes down to the readily available social media and the speed at which people have an opinion on something. The amount of things that happen in 90s TV or 2000s TV, that, you know, up to about 2012, that would have just got completely lost.

You know, you feel like people are watching TV shows and they're on Twitter at the same time. Do you know what I mean? There's this instant reaction, which is such a bad way to watch a TV show. Do you know what I mean? I bet you've done it, though. Yeah, but I try, I don't barely look at Twitter now

because I just find it rots my brain. I find it a really negative thing. and so I don't like I wouldn't want to do that I wouldn't want to watch TV show along with other people on Twitter but then I can see the appeal you know it's like watching TV with your mates and the one thing TV was in the 90s that it's not now was a communal experience yes everyone watched the same stuff at the same time and talked about it the next day

now if everyone's watching you know the same thing it's usually Netflix It'll be the last dance or something. And then you can't even talk about it because everyone's at different points in it. So someone's at episode four, you're at episode two. You don't want to hear what they've got to say because they're going to give it away. So it's like TV couldn't be less communal now.

I think that's for me the real different, the real shame compared to what it was like in the 90s. Oh, I agree. I completely. In fact, I'll just agree with everything you say. I'll say it now, so I don't have to say, I agree with you. Sitting down and writing a book, and I can imagine that obviously because

okay your wife was pregnant and you've got as you say you've only got a three month old baby and no sleep and everything but writing a book was I presume you did this quite a while ago it was kind of during lockdown yeah so how did you choose what to put in it

because somebody who was so deeply entrenched in in the 90s and television and also your life because it's about your life as well. It's kind of like a parallel story of growing up in the 90s told through the TV shows that I loved really, I suppose. And that's why it works.

It's just, it is fantastic. Everyone is the rule that everyone has to go and buy it because it's just so good. But the... I'd love to agree with you on that. How did you choose what you were going to put in it? Because to me, I, there's another few books, surely, to come out of it. Yeah, it's...

Well, I wanted to... I just started. I didn't have a narrative. in like I was just like I'm gonna just start by writing about thing I think the first thing I write was Neighbors because I was like that feels like a good start and then I just slowly amassed the chapters together there was things I was like I really want to write about this this and these things I have to write about Neighbors um Ghost Watch I felt like was a big deal to me in my childhood that one-off thing with the haunting um then um like what were the other gladiators Noel's house party

all these things that I felt. And then I was just like, what else kind of do I need to, has to hit, to tell the story of what life was like from 1990 to 1999 and that kind of decade. And there's loads of things like, it's not like I've gone,

what were the 20 biggest TV shows. I don't do friends. I don't, I don't talk about friends because I feel like, I don't really feel like friends as part of the 90s, do you know what I mean?

It feels like it's just kind of transcended that completely. Um, so I don't do big shows like that. And there's some others that I talk about that are only important to me. But I just, I wanted it to be my personal journey from the age of kind of seven to the age of 17 or whatever it would be. And, um, that is what it is actually. I can do the maths. And, um, I don't know why I.

Um, and, um, and so I just chose a combination of everything that I felt was important and everything that was important to me. because I don't think you, I wouldn't describe this as a definitive history of what it was like to live in the 90s for everyone, but it's definitely, as sum up of my experience of 10 years. And the people that have read it who are kind of my age have kind of gone, yes, that was my, that is exactly what my childhood was. Wow. That's quite a responsibility then, isn't it? You're speaking for all the, everybody. Or for many, for many, for many. I just think like,

It was so central to our lives, like television. So things were getting like 15, 20 million viewers. Everyone was watching these things. So everyone was living these same existences in different houses around the country, really. I think. And so it was apart from obviously those few kids that didn't have a TV

who were parents, just read books with them. Poor bastards. I've suddenly remembered an anecdote about blind date was in the night. It did carry on in the night. It was not. did carry on in the 90s, yeah, it was kind of 80s, 90s. And I remember at some event, and I said something about Blind Date, and all these people go, right, don't watch it, don't watch it.

Did you see the time that that woman fell over? Did you see the time, go, hold on, you just said you didn't watch it. Oh, it might have been on in the background. There was that wonderful thing about everybody watching, you know, 25, as you say, 20, 25 million people were watching it on a Saturday night before they went out. And nobody would admit they watched it, but still 20 million people were doing so. It's the same. It's like, it's like, it's like, Beatles about or something.

Everyone claimed to hate Jeremy Beedle, yeah, he was the most popular television presenter in the world. Do you know what I'm in Britain? Like, do you know what? And it's like, but the reason was there was four channels. Do you know what I mean? And you wanted the TV to be on because you didn't have a phone to look at. So the TV was on in the evenings. And if you hated Jeremy Beedle, you probably, he was still more entertaining than the other three things.

So you might as well watch him. What else are you going to do? Stare at the wall. Do you know what I mean? There was literally. that kind of situation where the TV was so central to our lives.

Is it like that with your daughter? You watched it. You what, sorry? I just want to know if you'll like that with your daughter. Do you let your daughter watch as much television as you did? Or are you stricter? She's not as into it as I was. I'm not limiting her time

on screen. Her screen time. She, but that's because where you haven't got in a position where we've needed to, do you know what I mean? But she's, you know, I don't know, when I'm hung over or something, like a bad parenting day, it's like me going, me pushing the TV on her, and she's like, no, I want to go and play. You're like, oh, come on, mate.

Let's just watch some Mr. Tumble. Give me a break here. Come on. I need this. I just need to sit down. Just give me half an hour of Tumble. Come on, mate. Oh, I'm with you. I remember doing that with my eldest. She's now just turned 20. But I remember it was sort of six in the evening. And it would just be that time.

You'd just think, oh, come on. Just watch tell you. Yeah, you're just like, come on, mate. People were disgusted when I said that. I know, if anything, like, I'm pushing TV on my daughter rather than the other way around, which is just one more, one more episode of Sarah and Duck and then we'll go out. Go on. Just give me that, please. It's nine minutes.

You can watch it for nine minutes. So how's the baby? How is it being a, having a baby back in? That's tough, mate. It is, isn't it? It's tough. Yeah. It's so tough.

No sleep. Like, I mean, can you hear my daughter screaming there? No. I didn't. Oh, I can hear. Is she there? Is that her there? Well, my daughter's just woken up from a nap and she's been screaming for about the last 20 minutes I've done with a vague screaming in the distance.

And I thought, I'm sure Gabby can't hear this because she'd have mentioned. No, we can't. We can't. That's good. So, yeah, no, it's just having two is relentless. I mean, everyone told me. Everyone told me. But I didn't listen.

I genuinely thought, I was like, that first two or three months would just be like, when my daughter's at nursery will just sit in front of the TV and relax, really, won't we? And, like, watch the Olympics and stuff. And you're like, no, this. This is, God, I mean, the only good thing about it as opposed to the first one in terms of just the ease is at least I had already lost my social life. So I've got none of that has lost again, do you know what I mean? Like there's no moment where I've gone like, oh, like the first time you have a child, you're like, oh my God, this is my Saturday night now. Oh, my Saturday night is trying to get a child to sleep.

But now, I don't even remember what I'm trying to miss from Saturday nights. So that's good. But it's pretty intense. But he started to sleep. But he's started to sleep a bit more. But not in the way where... He'll wake up because he'll be teething. And then you'll have it all over again.

Yeah. You'll remember it. People talk about the four-month sleep regression. You're like, what am I... Really? I wish it was a bit more linear. Do you know what I mean? Because just when you think you've got a handle on it,

That's when it goes wrong. But conversely, just when you think it's awful, something nice will happen and it will make you go, oh, this is worth it. But it's great that you speak like this. My producer I'm working with at the moment, he's got exactly the same age kids as yours. And he just, this morning when I went in, and he just went, oh, mate, please. Why does nobody tell you having to? Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

I slammed the freezer door and it broke because I just, I'm talking. Oh my word. And I said, yeah, no. Yeah. And it doesn't get easier because the tea thing. And he said, but why did people not say this? And I said, you've got to listen to Rob and Josh. You just got to because they said it. It's too late for him. It's too late for him. But this is the thing with it. It is going to be worth it. Because I do want. It is. It is worth it. I promise. I am not. And I repeat this having a third. There is no way. No way. Does your wife know this? Yes. She agrees with me. But then. Then, you know, you'll get a smile off the baby and you'll be like, well, maybe one more. And they're like, no, God, you've got to, I need to write notes to my phone, to myself in my phone or something at the 3am moments and go, you have to remember this is happening.

Okay, so somebody who's, is two and they're 20 and 14 now, what I'm going to do is I'm just going to remind you every so often. I'm going to, I'm going to WhatsApp you. Maybe in about six months, I'm just going to send you a random WhatsApp just saying no, don't. Just saying no, don't. You'll think, what is she talking about? And then I'll say, I promise it gets easier.

It's, I just hope. Because this is, my daughter, she wakes up very badly from naps. So this is my three-year-old. She's been screaming for 20 minutes, right? This shouldn't be happening during an interview. This isn't professional for me. It should be. That's why podcast.

Never on Parkinson was the guest also listening to their child screaming in a floor below them. Do you know what I mean? That is that is not how you're producing your best work. You're just like, this is not conducive to the working environment. That's you. That's you and that's why everybody loves you. That's it. Full stop. End of. I mean, that's exactly why.

People enjoy my suffering. Yeah, completely. They love it. They love that you're not sleeping, that your daughter is screaming when she comes out of a nap and that she's crying in the background. That's how it should be. So we ask everybody on this podcast

What makes them properly belly laugh And you said there's not been much laughing For the past 12 weeks But you love a giggle So apart from Rob on your podcast What makes you properly belly laugh And lose it and giggle? Well I don't think it's

I think Do you know what I've kind of got a dick You get in these This sounds a weird thing to be really into. But like WhatsApp groups with friends where there's they build and build where it's

started for some reason and then it just the conversation continues for years and there's strings of in jokes that don't, I don't know if other people have this but you know things will happen in the group whatever make people have jokes attached them whatever and these jokes have gone on

for years and it builds and builds and the longer it goes on and I'll get texts and WhatsApp on these groups and I'll be so excited because it's like it's like far funnier than anything you see on television it's far funnier than anything you hear on the radio or on a podcast or whatever because often it'll be you know you've been a group with comedians or whatever and it's like it's just so much more extreme and it's based on like six years a quiet to get the jokes you have to have been in there and read every text for six years do you know what I mean you're like

this is really rewarding do you know what I mean it's how some people feel about reading a great novel or whatever but you're in a WhatsApp group you're like I've really worked for this to understand that joke that references three other jokes than the last six years and that kind of stuff I absolutely live for because I think that's like so much human connection now you can while we're blocked off from each other there are things where you're like I'm far more in touch with my friends than I would have been before my phone do you know what I mean and I find that really rewarding so occasionally my child will be struggling struggling to get to sleep and it'll be my wife's turn to rock him and I'll look at my phone

and I'll be thinking I can't laugh in this situation because it's 3 a.m. And I've told her that I'm checking the train times for tomorrow or whatever. And you just want to, you just, that, that, I find I adore that. And then, you know, I don't think you ever laugh as much at something that's written or on TV or anything as you do in real life, do you know what I mean? I think, as you say, you're into people falling over. I think people, is people messing up in real life is far funnier than, you know, not to go back to what's that, but someone's sending the wrong text to a group or someone, you know, getting an email that, shouldn't that someone is meant to send for their wife and it's got the right all of that you know

like i literally just got a text about an hour ago about this birthday party that were organizing for my daughter and it was like it was from a mum that i've never met before and then she called me babe and then she texted me a minute later and said i didn't mean to call you babe and i thought she's just had an absolute nightmare and i'm so delighted and that's made me so happy. Have you ever said that to someone? You must have. Bank manager. I actually, I said to my, oh, to my accountant, that was it.

I said to my accountant at the end of the phone call. Oh, I'm in bad. I said, love you. And then I realized I said it. Oh, yeah, totally. Oh, I don't. Do you know what? When I was at university, I got an email, not an email, a text for my flatmate who, it was like 11 in the morning.

And his girlfriend had just left. and it was for his girlfriend and I can still remember it word for word and it was absolutely effing mortifying it was just wanted to give you he'd obviously called her she hadn't picked up so he'd written her just wanted to give you

a snuggle call hope you're having a snunky time Munker loves monkey and I thought that is the most mortifying thing you could ever send to your flatmate rather than to your girlfriend like so sickening so much sickening kind of chat all these secret words they've got together

all this kind of this window into the do you know what we never mentioned it me in the flat I was too mortified to even bring it out I was too I was too embarrassed for him but obviously I've committed it to memory for podcasts in the future oh that is just fantastic yeah all of those things. Do you know what? Can I just add though that something that makes me laugh is you and I'm going to start I'm going to end where we started. You've got funny bones and thank you for for bringing us all such joy especially over the past couple of years because we've all needed it. And when people, I have to say that when people talk about what makes them laugh, so often people talk about you. So on behalf of all of them, I like a royal, I feel very royal. I'm thanking you on behalf of the people.

Oh, thanks so much for having me, Gabby. I obviously have always been a big fan, and it's a pleasure. You'll just love me. And I follow you on Instagram, and you're having the best time of anyone I follow. You seem to be enjoying life. Far more than anyone I've ever met. Do you know what? It's just being stupid.

And I don't care who thinks I'm stupid. And if somebody says, God, you're really stupid. I go, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's me. It's more fun. Do you know what? Being silly is just so much better than being serious. It really is. And thank you for just bringing us.

And I'm off to tell my daughter that while she screams at me in the first. Yeah, go and put it in front of the telly quickly. Put it in front of the telly. Yeah, it's fine. It's fine. Get an old show out. Put it on. Josh, congratulations on the book as well.

Thank you so much. You've got a tour. You've got the tour. Oh yeah, I have got a tour. I have got a tour. I forgot about that. You're touring, you're doing gigs and you're doing a book tour. So I love it on your website.

It says, don't get the sort of, this is the book tour. So don't be disappointed if it's not the standard. So people... Yeah, don't be, don't be disappointed if it isn't as funny as the normal tour. It will be. It will be, you know. It will be, because you're a...

It's your bones. Your funny bones. Thank you, my lovely. Get to your kids and bless you. And I will see in real life soon. Cheers, mate. Always a pleasure. Bye-bye.

Speak soon. Bye. Next week, I'm so excited to chat to the talented actor, Lucifer himself from the hugely successful Netflix show. Lucifer, it's Tom Ellis. That Gabby Roslyn podcast is proudly produced by cameo productions, music by Beth McCari. Could you please tap the follow or subscribe button? And thanks so much for your amazing reviews. We honestly read every single one and they mean the world to us. Thank you so much.